Update on further strike action by the Communication Workers Union
Royal Mail is hugely disappointed that the Communication Workers Union has called for more damaging strike action. Strike action does not change Royal Mail’s absolute need to modernize, as all our major rivals have already done, if we are to be able to compete successfully in an increasingly challenging marketplace and continue to provide great customer service into the future.
The industrial action announced last Wednesday 18th July by the CWU amounts to a further 24 hour strike which hits different Royal Mail sites at different times. The union said similar action will also take place the following week. As before, the company has contingency arrangements in place to ensure that we can deliver the mail to our customers as quickly as possible.
The union’s stated position that it wants to cause the maximum disruption to Royal Mail, and therefore its customers, is completely at odds with its public stance of supporting the postal service – and its decision to block changes in 240 sites, as already agreed with our people locally, is at odds with its claim to be in favor of modernization.
Royal Mail has already spent months negotiating with the CWU on this year’s pay and on our need to modernize this business. Those negotiations suffered when the union pulled down the shutters on change and stopped when they withdrew and announced their intention to ballot for industrial action on our offer.
The union is also planning a further half-day of strike action at main Crown Post Office branches on Thursday 24th June morning, despite that fact that during last Monday’s half day strike only seven out of 458 Crown Post Office branches were affected, with the rest of the 14,000 strong network working as normal.
